Jody Craddock admits he hates the substitutes’ waiting role — but is delighted to see his young lieutenant nurse him through the agonies of the dug-out.

Wolves’ popular veteran defender is in the ‘ready and waiting’ berth as manager Mick McCarthy continues to back the ever-improving partnership of Richard Stearman and Craddock’s main partner last season, Christophe Berra.

But Craddock, like his manager, believes the faith is justified even though it brings him nothing but anxiety on matchdays.

“I’m a terrible substitute — I get so nervous and anxious, it’s horrible,” said Craddock. “I might have played almost 600 games but I feel awful before I go on.

“Once I’m out there on the pitch, I’m fine but I don’t like the sitting, waiting and watching bit. Unfortunately I’ve always been the same, so I guess the feeling’s not going to go away.

“But ‘Stears’ and Christophe have done fantastically well and that’s great because I want them to do well.

“I don’t want them to play badly so we lose, so I’ll keep doing what I’m doing and if an opportunity arises, I’ll have to take it.

“I have no complaints at all — Stearman has done well and he works hard. He had to wait for his opportunity and now I’m waiting for mine.

“As a defender, you need games and you need to build a partnership up. You also need a run of form to create that confidence but it takes a few games.”

Stearman’s development as a young defender getting to grips with top-flight football is one of the sub-plots of the team’s struggle to retain their status.

The final 11 games, starting with Saturday’s huge opportunity against Blackpool at Molineux, will be no setting for faint hearts but the experience Stearman is gaining with each minute can only benefit a player 13 years and 400 games the junior of the man he is keeping out.

Is Craddock looking at his long-term successor as he sits riddled with tension on the sidelines? Could Stearman cement Jody’s place in years to come?

“He should be — he’s a young lad and it’s about learning the game quickly. The quicker you can learn the game, the better the opportunity you have of a long career,” says the 35-year-old.

“I think he’s doing very well in the Premier League and the more games he plays, the more he will learn.

“It’s a vicious circle because you have to play to learn. Sitting watching someone on the telly is OK, but it’s better to be playing and learning that way.

“He’s getting that consistency, but when you make mistakes — as we all do — it’s about making sure you learn and don’t make them again.

“As you play more games and get older, you read the game better. Believe it or not, I was very quick as a young lad and I relied on that a lot. As I got older, I relied more on reading the game and I like to think I know where the ball’s going to go.”

And, Craddock adds, Stearman, 23, should be setting his ambitions as high as possible.

“England. That’s what he should be aiming at and setting himself those goals to work towards,” he adds. “He’s got to do everything in his power to keep listening to the manager, coaches and his team-mates, and keep working hard to achieve that aim.

“He’s at a Premier League club and he’s playing, which is fantastic for him, so the more games he plays, the better he’ll get.

“He’s a hard worker, he can pass the ball and he’s comfortable in possession, which is good for a centre-half, and he’s versatile as well as he can play right-back.”

It’s difficult to believe, however, that Wolves will have no further need of their evergreen defender — and one who brings with him the happy knack of popping in a goal or two from set-pieces — before this campaign is out.

Craddock was never better than when last season’s fight for survival reached the business end. Those two goals at Villa Park and his faultless defensive play were stand-out features of the late form which took Wolves clear of relegation with time to spare.

“I could get back in at any time — all I’ve got to do is be ready, that’s all I can do,” adds Craddock

“I’ve just got to keep training hard and keep playing in the reserves, which I’m more than happy to do because I’ve never turned my nose up at playing reserve matches.

“It’s so tight down there at the bottom of the table that we need to beat the teams around us to get above them.

“It’s as simple as that. It’s frustrating that we’ve beaten Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United but are still bottom of the Premier League.

“What we must do is look at those games and take all of the positives.”